Judge Dobrila Kacarska dismissed the testimony from prosecutor Lile Stefanova that she was allegedly interfering in the so-called Empire trial. The judge, who is seen as completely loyal to the Zaev regime, also acknowledged being a close and personal friend of businessman Jordan Orce Kamcev who was tried in Empire, and Stefanova’s allegation is that judge Kacarska was asking the prosecutors about their case against Kamcev and was pushing fellow judges to go easy on him.

I’m aghast by this comment about me. What Lile Stefanova said is a complete lie, I never called her or influence her directly or through some other prosecutor. This claim is unbecoming of a prosecutor, and I have no idea why she made it, Kacarska said.

Kacarska said that her lengthy presence in the court while fellow judge Vesna Dimiskova was deciding whether to detain Kamcev was a normal occurrence.

I won’t hide my close family friendship with the Kamcev family but my honesty should not be abused by anybody, Kacarska said.

Kamcev all but drove a truck through the ranks of the Macedonian judiciary, mowing down top judges and prosecutors, all of them outspoken supporters of the ruling SDSM party and active participants in the SDSM led persecution of opposiiton officials. Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva is charged with corruption and abuse of office, her SPO unit dismantled as result of the scandal, judge Dimiskova and prosecutor Stefanova are both suspected of extorting money from Kamcev, organized crime prosecutor Vilma Ruskoska is facing revenge corruption allegations from Janeva’s camp, and now Kacarska, who tried the important April 27 trial that helped Zaev rename Macedonia is accused of helping undermine the case against Kamcev.